Russian fighter jet flies close to US Navy aircraft

Our nation’s defenses are on high alert as it has just been reported that an armed Russian fighter jet flew alarmingly close to a U.S. Navy reconnaissance aircraft, flying in the Black Sea on Tuesday, which happened to be just one day before the Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Washington

The jet with a Russian origin came as close as 20 feet to the American aircraft, and stayed that close for around five minutes, according to reports from a U.S. defense official.

Reports add that the Russian jet carried six air-to-air missiles under its wings, making the move “highly provocative.” The event raised a number of questions as it is extremely rare for an armed Russian jet to intercept a U.S. aircraft.

A statement from Russian officials which was released on Friday called the jet’s intercept a “greeting” maneuver. The Russian military added in the statement that “After approaching a plane at a safe distance the Russian pilot visually identified the flying object as a U.S. surveillance plane P-8A Poseidon.”

However, this wasn’t like any other past intercepts, as the Russian jet approached the U.S. Navy recon plane “slowly,” according to the defense official, making the entire encounter last for about one hour.

“It goes on almost every day of the week,” added the official, with another spokesperson claiming that more than 60 such incidents have occurred since 2007.

While no other details of the encounter have been released, one thing is for certain – whoever came up with this plan, they are playing a dangerous game.